ABSTRACT
This chapter contributes to the formulation of the principle of informed consent in the Nigerian National Health Act (NHA) and the Code of Medical Ethics (CME). It examines whether the NHA offers a rule of informed consent built around the foundational principle of patient autonomy, which both empowers patients to be the decision-makers in matters concerning their healthcare and treatment, and invests them with the right to demand information relevant to their medical care. The chapter explains the classes of information that may be subsumed under the informed consent rule. It discusses the operation of the medical professional standard of disclosure in Nigeria and highlighted the standards operative in the UK, US, and Canada. The chapter argues that the omission of a mandatory duty to disclose the patient's health status because of the notion of patient's best interests, which is loosely used in the Act, can significantly interfere with patient autonomy.
